There's a dream that I've been chasing, want so badly for it to be reality. Okay, based on that line and my favourite episode of season 1, The Storm, this came up!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.
It was dark. The bright silver moon hung in the midnight sky, accompanied by the little twinkling stars that brightened the winter atmosphere even more. There was brisk wind coming off the waves, cool and briny. All of a sudden, Aang felt the first true tingle of fear slither down his spine and settle in his stomach. He was alone, standing on frozen water. Ice. He recognised it. He remembered it.
Suddenly, as quickly as it came, the fear was gone. The cold still air seemed to drift away, as warmth enveloped him, gripping his heart lightly. By the glow of the moonlight, Aang spotted a slender figure. Her hair seemed to dance with the wind that blew against Aang's face.
Aang, who was too curious for his own good, said, "Uh, hello?"
His words seemed to hit silence, as the figure did not respond. Aang, being a brave soul, walked steadily towards the figure. "Hello?" he repeated.
"What are you doing here?" the figure asked, her voice more like the memory of sound than sound itself. As Aang moved closer, he could make out the features of the figure. It was a girl, who seemed to be about a year or two older than him. Her long dark hair was arranged in a thatch of intricately beaded braids. It swirled lightly in the backwind, reflecting the falling moonlight. Her face was not only overly beautiful, but also possessively full. Her chestnut-coloured limbs were strong, but lithe and graceful, radiating the healthy luminescence of flesh. Despite the freezing weather, she was wearing a short white dress that clung from her chest and ended inches above her knees. Her eyes were blue, the colour of the ocean at dawn. Aang felt like perfection was standing right in front of him.
Her soft features furrowed into a look of confusion as Aang approached closer to her. "I don't know why I'm here. I remembered flying on my sky bison, and all of a sudden, I ended up here," his voice was a dry whisper.
Aang looked around. Where was Appa anyway, he wondered to himself. "Where were you going with your sky bison?" she replied ever so quietly that it seemed to blend in with the gentle breeze.
"I… I don't know. I was just… clearing my mind, I guess," Aang murmured.
The girl seemed to have detected sadness in his words, for she asked, "Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"
The deep concern in her voice warmed Aang's heart as he smiled, warm and sincere. He didn't know whether he should trust this stranger and let her know his conflicting feeling. But there was something unique about her, something that seemed to draw him closer to her. Aang lifted his eyes, and they met her calm, worried eyes that reflected the moonlight above.
He could trust her.
"My name is Aang," he began, walking closer to the girl. When he reached her side, they started walking together across the ground that was enveloped with white snow. "I'm from the Southern Air Temple. A few days ago, the monks summoned me. They told me that I was… that I am the Avatar."
Confusion reached the girl's face again. She heard sadness in Aang's words. "You're upset that you're the Avatar? Why wouldn't you be excited about it?"
"I didn't know how to feel about it. All I knew is that after I found out, everything began changing. My friends, the other monks, wouldn't even let me play with them in a game because they thought that I would be an unfair advantage to whichever team I'm on. I mean, I'm still the same, nothing's changed!" Aang raised his arms up angrily, then sighed and put them back down again.
"Monk Gyatso understood though. He always understands," Aang said, smiling.
"Who's monkeyatso?"
Aang chuckled. "Monk Gyatso," he said, enunciating every syllable, as if he were talking to someone mentally handicapped. "He's my guardian and my mentor.
"He understood that I needed fun. That I needed to grow up like any other normal kid. But no, instead, they had to separate me from Gyatso. Said that I needed to complete my training immediately over at the Eastern Air Temple," he said, anger rising in his voice.
"That's awful, Aang. I don't know what to say," the girl murmured sadly.
"How could they do this to me! They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I loved!" Aang could feel his knuckles getting white as he closed his hands into fists tightly. Aang felt warm calming hands on his shoulder, and he relaxed. "I'm sorry I got so mad."
"You have a right to be angry after the monks sent you away like that," she folded her arms.
Aang looks downcast, guilt masking his anger as he said, "Well, that's not exactly what happened. I was afraid and confused. I didn't know what to do. So I left a note, took Appa, my sky bison, and left."
The girl glanced at him, "You ran away."
"Yeah. I remember what happened next. I was flying South, then a storm hit me. And then I ended up here, talking to you. Details were unclear, I can't seem to remember. Just ice, and water, and lights," Aang stopped and sighed. "I'm the Avatar, and I can't run away from that. but I just… I don't know. I didn't want to grow up so fast. I just wanna be a kid, you know?"
"I know what you mean," the girl said, her hand still on Aang's shoulder. Suddenly, she gripped it tight. "I know what you need," she said, feeling elated all of a sudden. Grabbing his hand and pulling him forward, she said, "Come on!"
OOOOO
"Penguins!"
The girl laughed. The smile of her laugh warmed Aang's cheek, but he shrugged it away, smiling cheekily himself. They were on a beach loaded with penguins waddling around, squawking. A beach with ice, that is. "Come on. It's time for you to be a normal kid," the girl said, fishing out a fish out of nowhere and holding it in the air.
The two of them were instantly surrounded by a horde of hungry penguins. "Grab one, Aang," the girl laughed. Her arms were around the neck of a penguins who was right in front of her. "Let's go sledding!"
Aang laughed. He ran forward to catch a penguin, but then suddenly, everything dissolved and faded to black. The ice seemed to melt and the dark sky seemed to fall on Aang, who screamed. "Hey!" he yelled to the darkness, turning, searching for the girl he was just with. "Hey! Where did you go?"
Finally concluding that she was gone, Aang closed his eyes in sadness. I will never forget you, he thought. But, she was just a dream.
OOOOO
Something was poking his head. Hard. He heard a voice. "Stop it!" it said.
The voice was warm and calm. So familiar, like from a dream, Aang thought. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he slowly opened his eyes. And he saw perfection. Glowing blue orbs for eyes, smooth chestnut-coloured skin, dancing brown hair, and a smile. A beautiful smile that reached his heart. She was like a dream. A dream that he so badly wanted to be reality. She was holding him close, and it felt right.
He suddenly remembered as it came flooding back to him.
Aang whispered, "I need to ask you something."
"What?" the girl replied quietly. Her warmth, Aang thought. "Please, come closer." The girl moved closer, and Aang could feel her breathing lightly against his skin. "What is it?"
Aang felt the urge to finish what he did not manage to start. Here goes nothing, he thought. "Will you go penguin sledding with me?"
He stared at the girl for a split second, waiting for her answer. She wasn't just a dream, he knew. She was real, reality.
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